Direct Mail

After the call to action, the element of a direct-mail piece that matters most for response is the outer envelope. If you want to move the needle in direct-mail response, test changes to the envelope.

Here's something to consider when you're thinking about that envelope: copy and design are not the only elements you can work with. The envelope is a physical object, and you can change the physical properties of it, and that can be a very effective way to improve your fundraising results.

The use of premiums in direct-response fundraising, whether it be in a direct-mail, email, telefundraising or direct-response television campaign, has conjured lots of debate over the years. Proponents like to point out the lift a premium often can give a specific campaign, while detractors often cite the lack of donor loyalty for premium-responsive donors.

A breakdown of Wound Warrior Project's Purple Heart direct-mail control.

Why bother using the mail at all for fundraising? In memory of Mr. Ed (my mail carrier, not the horse), here’s my response …

In her latest post at Forbes.com, Lois Geller predicts the return of the great direct-mail letter. It occurred to me that a lot of people haven’t seen one in quite a while, if ever. They’re not extinct, but they’re rare critters, more like coelacanths than sharks.

They spring from a lot of background work, thought, understanding and, more than anything else, creativity, although creativity by itself isn’t much use.

Each great direct-mail letter is unique, but they all share many attributes, including …

Jeff Brooks, creative director at multichannel fundraising agency TrueSense Marketing, answers the questions he's most often asked about direct-mail fundraising:

Is the Internet the death knell for direct mail?

Not even close. Direct mail is a long way from death. It's still the most effective fundraising medium (after the church offering basket), and it's many times more effective than email.

Pamela Barden takes a look back at 2013's last week of fundraising, this time tackling the fundraising direct-mail appeals she received in the final week of the year.

I've been on the receiving end of a charity's efforts, and it hasn't ended well. In fact, a charity with which I have a great deal of affection has upset me. Not only has it written to me with a string of appalling direct mail (for which there is surely no excuse), but this must mean that there is no way it's raising the amounts it should be for its great work.

I will keep this all anonymous, and I tell this story only so others learn from how not to do it.

In fundraising direct mail, the letter is the thing. You have just a matter of seconds to grab the reader’s attention — or wind up in the trash bin. We scanned Who’s Mailing What!, the world’s largest library of direct-mail and e-mail samples, to share with you these top fundraising letters and the stories behind them.

Here are some trending behaviors and techniques I carefully observed and heard about throughout 2013 in regard to direct-mail fundraising. I came up with these two dozen hot and not-so-hot trends by scrutinizing award-winning direct-mail packages; having discussions with printers/writers/fundraisers; learning lots of best practices from conferences in the nonprofit and commercial industries; attending Direct Marketing Association of Washington lunch and learn presentations by direct-mail experts; meeting with my colleagues and our clients; and by looking at, touching and critiquing every piece of direct mail that crossed my desk